Women At The Helm 2013
President and CEO, GLAAD
Media virtuoso Sarah Kate Ellis is the brains behind some of our national media brands’ biggest success stories—and she’ll use her wide-ranging experience in her new role, as president and CEO of GLAAD. Her direction and ideas have energized outlets including Real Simple, Vogue, House & Garden, InStyle and New York, and she’s also using those skills to empower our community. As a cochair of OUT at Time, Inc., this outspoken advocate and brilliant communications strategist led programming to spotlight the diversity of the LGBT community and worked to educate the organization’s straight allies on LGBT issues. Throughout her career, she has earned seven MIN awards for marketing innovation, two President’s Awards, and MIN’s Sales Executive Team of the Year award in 2012, and recently served as Senior Vice President of Global Marketing at Martini Media. You might also recognize Ellis from the memoir she co-authored with her wife Kristen Ellis-Henderson in 2011, Times Two: Two Women in Love and the Happy Family They Made, an autobiography about their simultaneous pregnancies and road to motherhood. What’s she up to now? Let’s just say the board of directors of GLAAD didn’t have to look far to find the perfect candidate to serve as their new leader: Ellis will step into the role in January, in GLAAD’s NYC office. Ellis says she’s excited to further cultivate GLAAD’s work in the media and share stories from our community: “I look forward to creating a world where LGBT people and our families have the freedom to joyously—and openly—live a life they love!”
Today, business owners incorporate their beliefs in fairness and equality into their work. Nonprofit directors combine their passion for social justice with managerial prowess. Meet the new wave of out leaders who talk the talk and walk the walk.
ROBIN SCHWARTZ
Executive Director, Aqua Foundation for Women
“I worked in corporate America for over 20 years,” says Robin Schwartz. “I came to a point in my life that I wanted to do something more meaningful.” And she did. Schwartz put that business experience to work co-founding and serving as Executive Director of Aqua Foundation for Women, a nonprofit serving as the funding catalyst for lesbian, bisexual and transgender wellness and equality in South Florida through scholarships, grants and initiatives. A Miami native, Schwartz is renowned in the community for her extensive involvement, as well as her effectiveness. Since joining SAVE Dade during its fight to win the equal rights ordinance, she has served as Vice Chair of Miami Beach Gay Pride, Vice Chair of the City of Miami Beach LGBT Business Enhancement Committee and as a Young Founder of Mt. Sinai Hospital. She has volunteered for the Task Force, Pridelines and the Humane Society, helping with everything from event planning to fundraising. Her advice to other business and nonprofit leaders? Stay focused on what makes the most impact in the community. “There is always so much to do when running a nonprofit and often we are asked to do it with little staff,” she says. “I ask myself every day, “is the foundation doing the work that fills our mission?” It’s important to lead with the mindset of a business person with a big heart.”
